Declaration of Independence for the self-employed

Pamela Slim has published a fantastic video titled "My declaration of independence" which is an inspiration for small business owners and other people who are self-employed.  It is the type of video I would live to download and stick on my iPod for those times I feel a little low.  Unfortunately this video is only available as a web-based popup.  Her post introducing the video is here.

Pamela’s blog is titled "Escape from Cubicle Nation" is a blog about how to go from a corporate prisoner to a thriving entrepreneur.  I was chatting to a colleague the other day about a distinction I came across between being self-employed and being a business owner.  Basically being self-employed means you are still working in a job.  The difference is that you are the boss.  Unfortunately you are still a virtual slave to your job and because you work for youself, you cannot afford to ease off on the pressure.  The end result is that you are still the equivalent of what Pamela calls a "corporate prisoner".

My goal is to shift to being a business owner and entrepreneur where the work I do frees me.  Pamela’s story is inspiring and illuminates a path that appeals to me:

As soon as I started working for myself, I knew that something was RIGHT! Having my own business was totally liberating and intoxicating. I named my company Ganas (a Spanish word that means the intense desire to do something, inner motivation, exuberance, drive) since that was what I felt every day I went to work, and was how I wanted my clients to feel as a result of working with me. I even went through a phase of self-employment evangelism, encouraging everyone I knew, or didn’t know, to work for themselves, until I learned that not only was it unrealistic since some people like working as an employee, it was downright obnoxious. So although I have toned it down over the years, my zeal for entrepreneurship and my love of working for myself has never waned.

Update:

I received an email from Pamela to say that the video is now downloadable as a Flash video from her website.